Linux is struggling on the desktop because it only has a small number of "great" apps, according to the Gnome co-creator. Miguel de Icaza, co-creator of the Gnome desktop, told tech journalist Tim Anderson at the recent Windows 8 Build conference "When you count how many great desktop apps there are on Linux, you can probably name 10," de Icaza said, according to a post on Anderson's IT Writing blog. "You work really hard, you can probably name 20. We've managed to p*** off developers every step of the way, breaking APIs all the time."

The thing is, I'd have a hard time naming 10 great Windows desktop applications and I've been using Windows for about 3 years now.

The problem is that we automatically cross a lot of applications off the list because we have a narrow definition of a desktop application. Things like Word and Writer will count, but KidPix and Tux Paint would be ignored. The exclusion is ironic since the Photoshop and GIMP would count, but software for children just doesn't seem worthy.

If you want to make an honest list of the great desktop applications for Linux, go into the package manager and remind yourself about all of the great programs that are out there. And try to avoid mentally crossing things off because it's 'for a child', 'only for developers', 'geared towards science geeks', or whatever.